While Messing would make a great figure head and would bring back memories of the original NASL. But do you really want the first commissioner in league history to be a guy who plead guilty to wire fraud charges and who's first attempt at owning a team (the MISL's NY Express) ended when the team went belly up mid-way through it's first season?

Given all the hurdles a new league will have to traverse, I'd throw the name Peter Wilt out there as the obvious choice for someone to give the league a commissioner that actually has recent experience in both a start up league (he started up the Chicago Red Stars of WPS in 2009) and helping build up the Chicago Fire in MLS.

And after reading his posts at Pitch Invasion and having him on the show in 2009 and 2006 , I believe that Peter would be able to guide the new league in a direction that would allow for slow, careful growth and avoid a lot of the traps that doomed the original NASL.

I have no idea what the NASL teams are feeling when it comes to fiscal conservatism, but I think that has to be something that they stress early on. Just look at how much money the WPS teams lost this past year as an example of how much it costs to get a new league up and running.

The NASL has a leg up over the WPS in that most of their teams have been up and running for a while and it's merely the league infrastructure that needs to be developed. But, given the current economic climate, I think that being overly cautious with player payroll, marketing, and travel budgets is something that the league needs to keep a tight grip on.

If the NASL doesn't do that, then you could see teams dropping by the wayside as much as you have over the past decade in the USL.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the
author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or
SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to
news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all
of them.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Suggestions? SoccerSam loves hearing from listeners, guests and fellow soccer aficionados. Learn how to get in touch with Sam or the show’s producers by checking out our contact page.